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Shuramunz
Keep - Description Shuramunz, The City of Mercy, is located in the northeastern portion of Eostia. While not a capital city, it is one of the largest settlements in the region. Originally, the mid-sized city housed an assassin's guild that shirked hiding in the shadows and preferred to their business in the light of day. As the city expanded, a religious order of knights splintered off from the guild and eventually took control of the city. Many years later, Shuramunz now eclipses the Capital City in size. It has since evolved into a citadel run by a religious order. The city is divided into three sanctums: Outer, Inner, and Holy. The Outer Sanctum is surrounded by walls, the lands within are spacious and more suburban in nature. Most of the population of the city lives within The Outer Sanctum. The Inner Sanctum is surrounded by walls three to four times higher. Many of the businesses and upper class reside here. It's more densely packed with a sparser population. The final set of the walls, the highest of any, are The Holy Sanctum, which houses The Grand Cathedral and The Holy Castle. The walls are a hundred meters in height or more and offer the most protection within the citadel. Inhabitants Ecclesia Vanir Ordo Lexica Residents of Shuramunz Politics Law Shuramunz is a Holy City, and therefor governed by The Holy Order. All laws are decided upon by The Holy Order, yet a unanimous decision must be made before anything is passed into law. The laws are fairly conservative and could be considered harsh to some. Weapons are permitted to be carried within the city, yet they must not be drawn upon any other citizen. Open combat is also forbidden, with special exception given to those of The Holy Order and The Bladed Cross. Anyone seen fighting with weapons drawn will be arrested on site and thrown in the castle dungeon, left to be 'questioned' until they no longer have any answers. Their weapons and armor can be relinquished, melted down, and molded into a cross that is then handed to the perpetrator upon their release as a symbol of their captors mercy. The prisoner, depending on the severity of their infraction, may be granted a chance to pray forgiveness and beg for their weapons to be returned. Enchanted weapons and those that cannot be melted down will be kept in the Armory for a period of two months. Afterwards, the owners can appeal to The Holy Order, pray forgiveness and plead their case to receive their armaments back. Domestic Relations Previously led by a holy man of the name Jormund The White, his untimely death during The Bloody Rites summoned a period of stagnation and lawlessness known as The Silence. This also signified the end of The Holy Order. The thirteen year period was broken when Jormund's daughter, Ecclesia, proclaimed the reformation of The Holy Order and The Silence broken. At the same time, she ascended to lead The Holy Order, and ultimately govern Shuramunz with her knights. There are some tensions around the city, based on Ecclesia's rumored demonic possession. A few splinter factions rebel, claiming her to be hypocritical, evil, and a black mark upon her fathers good name. There's a few small movements that seek to remove the alleged demon from power, claiming her rule to be blasphemous and unholy. While in power, Ecclesia's Order has cleaned up the damage done during The Silence, driven out the invasive bandits within the lower parts of the city, and is gradually rebuilding the city to its former glory. The city as a whole once again stands under the protection of The Holy Order. While Ecclesia is the ruler of the city, the majority of administrative activities are handled by select members of the order. After declaring independence, and ultimately a war against the current crown, the city has found itself inspired greatly. A full economic recovery has been made as trade runs rich, the faith of the people finds itself strengthened, and The Holy Order is seen lately as less tyrannical and more merciful with the best interests of the people in mind. Still, whispers line the streets as rumors of demonic intervention run within The Holy Order. Foreign Relations Shuramunz had previously found itself the target of many years of bandit assaults. Their trade routers were closed and their gates shut, leading the city to sorrow and isolation. As The Ebon Accord offered assistance, Shuramunz manipulated the helping hand and eventually found themselves allied with Ebonridge, Jotunheim, and Vinosea. With the roads cleared, the city enjoys a prosperous series of trade networks with the various cities nearby. Religion The people of Shuramunz believe in The Blessing Of Light, a gift bestowed on them from above by a creator most just. While they believe in a higher plane of existence, the followers cherish their time on this world and seek to make themselves helpful to others. Followers of The Light are kind, warm-hearted, and have a strong constitution. The leader of The Holy Order is chosen unanimously by the knights themselves until recently, when Ecclesia proclaimed herself leader. The Holy Order follows this religion closely, yet it's not unheard of for them to adjust and reinterpret what is written to fit their own means. Economy The economy took a dive when the inner walls closed off for over a decade. Residential districts no longer had access to the business districts and vice versa. A depression overcame the city and the economy suffered for years. However, it's been bouncing back after the reformation of The Holy Order and The Silence broken. As many items can only be made within the walls of Shuramunz, they've retained their value over the decade of decay. Military Shuramunz has bolstered it's military force over the past years, adding to their numbers swiftly as those eager to follow The Darklight are happy to pick up a sword in her name. Due to granting asylum to former bandits, rogues, and renegades, the ranks of The Holy Order's forces remain small yet elite and varied. The military is not the typical sword-and-shield series of troops, for the varied backgrounds of the knights bring new training regiments and new forms of warfare. Many soldiers are trained in a multitude of weapons, including swords, polearms, and bows. While swift and brutal, it's been mandated by Ecclesia herself than survivors of their assaults be offered mercy, asylum, and a place within the walls or within the ranks of the military. History The Bloody Rites During the last crusade, The Holy Order evoked a dark ritual for means of permanently killing demons. The process was to remove them from the plane of existence entirely by luring them into possession of a specific host. They were then trapped within a holy vessel and executed before they'd time to attune to their new body. Their souls could not ascend nor descend and eventually consumed one another, removing both the possessor and the possessed from existence. This event lead to the downfall of The Holy Order. The once benevolent man, Jormund Vanir, found himself performing dark and vicious deeds for the sake of purging the demonic forces forever. A bitter irony struck as he'd soon found his own daughter possessed by the very demons he was trying to eradicate. Unable to take her life, he'd ended his own, signifying the end of The Holy Order and the beginning of a time known as The Silence. The Bloody Rites are seen as a transgression by both human and demon alike and are forbidden. The Silence A thirteen year period of time where The Holy Order was defunct and non-existent. The inner walls closed and the city was shut off from outsiders for over a decade. Internally, society began to crumble, yet it held strong as the faith of the people allowed them to limp on without a government or protective force. The economy nearly collapsed as the city mourned its lost leader and tried to recover. The Silence was broken once the order was reformed by Jormund's possessed daughter. The inner walls were opened and the city was now on its way to recovery and former glory. Very little is known about what happened within The Holy Sanctum during The Silence, leading many to theorize just what happened to the once hundreds of knights. Insurrection After decades of neglect from the nearly forgotten capital city, Shuramunz was left to fend for itself during the darkest times and the coldest nights. After suffering bandit assaults for many years, the city became self-sufficient after finding itself unable to count on outside assistance. With the need for the capital waning, the city began to question just what their tribute and tariff was going to, for the capital had been never-present for many years. Their neighbors to the northwest, The Ebon Accord, swept in to offer aid and reprieve regarding the vagrant militias. Due to this, Shuramunz and The Holy Order spent very few lives fighting bandits and instead allowed their "liberators" the luxury of bleeding in foreign lands. The entire time, the city was bolstering its forces and strengthening itself, leading up to the day they welcomed The Ebon Accord into their chambers and accused them openly of having ulterior motives with regard to annexing Eostia. Ecclesia Vanir, leader of Shuramunz, offered mercy along with warning of the now upset balance of power within the borders of Eostia. With open trade free of tariff for a decade, open access to their mines, military access and a strong alliance, Shuramunz proclaimed itself independent. With the announcement of insurrection and open rebellion backed by not only The Ebon Accord, but smaller yet powerful allies such as Jotunheim and Vinosea, it's only a matter of time before The Holy Order storms south to raze the capital and proclaim their citadel as the crown jewel of Eostia. Ecclesia seeks to become empress and make Shuramunz the capital city. --------- Notable Locations The Holy Sanctum The Holy Sanctum houses the castle, home to The Holy Order and Ecclesia Vanir. Baring crosses of iron on every single building, The Holy Sanctum is an incredibly religious place made up of politicians, priests, knights and the military force. Governmental buildings and The Grand Cathedral are some of the larger structures, yet they are dwarfed by the massive Holy Castle. The Inner Sanctum The Inner Sanctum is comprised of business districts and the upper class. Many mansions line the streets and high-end trade-crafts are prominent. The upper class enjoy a heightened sense of security as The Holy Order is much closer to them than The Outer Sanctum. The walls around The Inner Sanctum are much, much higher than those around The Outer. The Outer Sanctum The Outer Sanctum refers to the land between the inner and outer walls, where the majority of the population is. It's mostly residential with farmland, mining, and various trades scattered among small pockets of the population. Many lower class citizens live out here, but they're treated equally as the upper class. The Bladed Cross Formerly a guild of lawless assassins who trace their formation to the early years of The City Of Shuramunz. Formerly, they interacted little with The Holy Order and found themselves doing more back-alley, dirty and bloody jobs that couldn't be openly promoted by the order. As the years passed, war and bandit attacks ravaged the outskirts of Shuramunz. As isolation set upon the city, order was kept by shaded dealings just beyond the radiant light of the church. Once Shuramunz declared open rebellion and their war against Eostia, The Assassin's Guild went through it's own evolution to become an officially acknowledge yet unofficially supported blade to the crown. The guild is made up of many former bandits who were granted mercy and absolution, willing to lay their lives down for the very mother of mercy who granted them quarter and perform deeds too dark for any holy knight to bloody their blade upon. The Bladed Cross does not consider itself part of The Holy Order, but a blade of Shuramunz. Category:Locations Category:Settlements